DUBAI, (Pakistan Point News - 08th Feb, 2020) The ninth edition of "The Poetic Heart", an annual poetry symposium hosted by SGI Gulf in association with Dubai Knowledge Village and Dubai International Academic City, concluded yesterday.
Proving to be a success, the event witnessed poetry recitations by 10 eminent local and international poets along with 38 students from schools across the UAE as well as an astounding attendance by more than 700 students.
Speaking about the initiative, Suresh Premkumar, Chairperson, SGI Gulf, said, "A growing number of young people are taking on poetry as a form of self-expression. At ‘The Poetic Heart’, year on year we have seen immense growth in the participation of schools from across the region in terms of the number of poems submitted by young budding poets as well as student attendance."
He continued, "Not only this, but we have also had the privilege of welcoming some of the most eminent poets on this platform and even launch several books. Nearly 75 poets, 17 musicians and more than 146 students have been a part of the Poetic Heart over the past nine years. What sets this event apart is the participation of Determined Ones alongside all other performers in the last few years. We look forward to expanding this initiative further and bringing some new exhibitions to schools across the UAE in the upcoming year."
The event - held in partnership with Emirates NBD’s CSR initiative under its "Together Limitless" platform - also witnessed poetry, performances and participation from the Determined Ones from across the UAE. Some of the highlights of their participation included: live musical performances on drums by students of the SNF Development Centre; song performance by a student of Tender Hearts Arena; and poetry recitation by students of these schools as well as by students of Al Manzil Center and Al Noor Center for Persons with Disabilities.
Speaking about the event, Dr. Shihab Ghanem, a renowned Emirati poet, said, "Poetry, has been an art form that is a cornerstone to the cultural and social heritage of the UAE. Today, poems shared by young budding poets warmed the hearts of those present through love and compassion. These are the kind of values we want to create among the youth."
The audiences witnessed performances from Sucheta Satish - a Guinness World Record Achiever who has set a new world record of singing in 102 languages in six hours. She sang a poem penned by Dr. Shihab Ghanem. There was a spectacular performance by the Winchester school Band – Jebal Ali which comprised of 18 students from Grade 5 to 13. To support and encourage these budding musicians, the event also featured performances from renowned musicians and artists such as Amara Tan and Leticia Monge. Naseem, the Chorus Group of Poetic Heart, enthralled the audience again by singing a Japanese song - "Sekaino Tomoto" which translates as "Together with our friend in the world".
This year’s line-up included poetry renditions from eminent poets. Poems were recited in a plethora of languages such as English, Arabic, Bengali, Malayalam, Japanese, Danish and Italian.
With more than 350 poems submitted from 44 schools across the UAE, 38 poems were shortlisted by a panel of renowned poets and presented at the symposium.
